Parakeets belong to the same family of parrots and are one of the most intelligent birds to be found. Their brightly-colored foliage and their chirpy exterior make them an excellent choice for pets. As pets, they can fill a household with laughter and riot with their effervescent personalities, a knack for mimicking sounds, and entertaining people with their antics. Many people love parakeets so much that they naturally foray into parakeet breeding. But breeding them is not simple and needs to be undertaken very carefully. The following section will provide certain important tips on the same. Bird Basics Make sure that the birds you choose to breed are at least a year old (the female should be older than the male), have no diseases, no birth defects, and, if possible, are not related. These factors will ensure that the pair has healthy babies. Birds who are familiar with each other work the best when it comes to breeding because it takes less time for them to mate. Cage Basics If you have housed a number of parakeets together and now wish to get into the breeding process, choose a pair from the lot and provide a separate bird house in the form of a cage for them. The cage should be about 22 inches wide, 16 inches in length, and 16 inches in height. Include pine shavings at the bottom of the cage after you've covered the grid with newspapers. The cage should have a perch for the birds to sit on. Make sure to include wooden inserts at the bottom of the cage to safeguard the eggs. Bird Diet Before breeding the pair, make sure that you've provided them with an array of millets, seeds, water, and other foods. This will ensure that they have a lot of energy stores. So also, keep a cuttlebone, calcium supplements, fresh vegetables, and fruits in the cage. Mating and Egg Laying The mating process could take sometime after the birds have been put into the cage. The best months have been keyed in are from the month of October to March. Only after they are absolutely comfortable with each other will they start mating. Look for behavior traits like the male parakeet feeding the female parakeet or mounting her frequently. After they have mated, it will take about 10 days for the first egg to be laid. Then, for some days after, the hen will continue to lay the eggs in a personalized pattern. A clutch will usually have around 4-8 eggs. Temperature and Environment Control After the eggs have been laid, special care needs to be administered till they hatch. The male will exhibit certain behavior like feeding the female regularly. On your behalf, make sure that you maintain a temperature of 18 to 24 ºC. Keep the cage humid by spraying a light spray 2-3 times a week. The humidity helps in the hatching process. Make sure that you cover the cage with a dark cloth as soon as it is sundown and keep it covered for 12 hours. Remove the cloth in the early morning. Provide for a full spectrum light bulb as it helps in the vitamin D formation. Egg Hatching and Care Do not interfere with the hatching process of the parakeets. Only change their food and water everyday and make sure that the cage is sufficiently cleaned. The eggs will start to hatch about 18-25 days after the first egg was laid. Do not touch the eggs without cleaning your hands thoroughly with soap and water. If the clutch is rather big and you find that the smallest of the chicks is not getting enough food, you can try and shift him into another pair's cage (if they have laid eggs or have chicks of the same age. This is usually a success. Be careful till they are about 6 weeks old until you try and wean them from the parents. Make sure that you administer proper parakeet care for not only the chicks, but the parents as well. If you have all the parakeet information properly brought into action, there are better chances of the breeding becoming a more successful venture.